Raspberry Pi 3 announced, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
On the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the creation of his first mini-PC family, Raspberry Pi Foundation has announced a new and interesting model.
Four years ago, the small Raspberry entered peremptorily in the scene of the so-called computer DIY (do it yourself), and revolutionized forever. Since then the company has not cradled on the success of the first productions, releasing some variants with several small changes, without altering the basic concept or change the target users. The foundation is celebrating its fourth anniversary with a major announcement: a new computer, the Raspberry Pi Model 3 B.
The new version is one of the largest updates ever for the small Raspberry Pi Foundation system, but maintains the same basic price: $35. The most important addition is that of a radio module for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless connections, long-awaited by fans, and that opens up many possibilities, increasing the versatility of the system without forcing users to add a further payment to that required at first.
” Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are two things that people ask us for some time, ” said Eben Upton, Raspberry Pi Trading CEO, and the company has finally accepted these demands managing not rehashing the typical price of the family. With Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built-in card, users can connect to wireless devices, such as keyboard or mouse, or networks, without having to install external controller or saving on the available USB ports.
The new Raspberry Pi 3 is also updated on the level of performance: is abandoned the ARM Cortex-A7 quad-core processor 900MHz for a more performing quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 1.2GHz compatible set of 64-bit instructions. According to the company, the new processor is about 50% faster than the previous one: ” We moved from A7 to A53 to have superior performance over a single core in 32-bit mode, ” said Upton.
The CPU is matched with a 1 gigabyte of RAM and a GPU VideoCore IV 400MHz, with the technical specifications that remain unchanged in these two areas as well as the size of the logic board, which do not change with respect to Raspberry Pi 2. What is certain is that with the passage of time, we have seen many alternatives to Raspberry Pi, with the model of the foundation that becomes less and less attractive compared to competitive offerings, such as Pine64.
Raspberry Pi 3 Model B – Technical specifications
- CPU : Broadcom BCM2837 quad-core 1.2 GHz 64-bit.
- GPU : VideoCore IV dual-core 400MHz.
- RAM : 1 GB LPDDR2.
- Storage : microSD slot.
- Connectivity : 1 x Micro-USB, 4 x USB 2.0, Ethernet 10/100 Mb, HDMI, RCA, 40 GPIO pins.
- Wireless : Wi-Fi 80211n, integrated Bluetooth 4.1.
- Dimensions : 85 x 56 x 17 mm.
The small computer PineA64 offers, in its most advanced version by $ 19, processor and RAM similar to the new Raspberry Pi 3, plus the ability to play content at 4K resolution thanks to its most powerful GPU (ARM Mali 400MP2).
Raspberry Pi Foundation has focused once again VideoCore IV for issues related to backward compatibility with older models, giving up to actual performance to maintain the highest support, at least according to what was established by Upton.
Raspberry Pi 3 Model B is already available in the usual retailers at a price of about $43.
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